Reversing attachment for vehicles



March 28, 1950 WAGNER 2,502,356

REVERSING ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 26, 1947 2 h t l INVENTOR. Eddie B. Wagner E' IVBY March 28,1950 E, B, A N R 2,502,356

REVERSING ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 26, 1947 2 s-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Eddie B. Wagner Patented Mar. 28, 1950 FUNITE D JSTATES PATENT OFFICE REVERSING A'I'ZIKCHIHIJNT FOR VEHIGLES u-Eddie :BJ'Wagner, -Portland,-.0reg.

Application'December 26, I947;'SerialNoffl94Z065 transmission mechanism-including a gear shift device.

Thainvention. is oflparticular utility: inlindusatrial :equipment .suchq-as z-scoops, zlift, fork trucks, hay iorksrandiother;similar.sequipment designed "ifOI' transporting varioustmaterials. TheJordi .anaryvehicle i driven; by .a conventional vautomor tive engine :comprises an engine ;having associsated. therewith a transmission device including asets of igears; ofs difierent ratios whereby'the vei lhicle .mayi be: driven .z atavarioussspeeds :with in- -verselyzproportionate power I factors between the wengine andthe drivenwheels. Such antransmiS- 'sion usua1ly comprises three or :four: speeds: for- -ward" and one speedin" reverse; a the reverse speed beingrelativfly slow. In many industrial appli- '-.'cati'onsof automotive" vehicles it isnecesa'ry, or at least highly desirable that the vehicle travel in reverse -i"or= considerabledistances, which pro- "oedure is very slow with the ordinary vehicle. The object or my invention is-to'applythe normal "forward transmission gear sets to'producing "movement of-thevehicle in reverseaswellas in the forward direction when desired; without in "any "way affecting thenormal transmission "or "gear shift mechanism.

nfurtherobject ofthe present invention is-to provide a "simplified; ru ged and durable" reversingattachment which may ioe'substitutedfor the usual propeller shaft of an automotlve ii)'rdfiinks i zthrough a-clevis-23 threaded onto the The objectsand advantages ofthe present .in- --v.ention will ..1be .mre .readily apparent from inspection oi. .the. following specification taken in vconnection with the accompanying drawings \wherein .likenumerals refer tolike-partsthroughtout, awhile-the features of :novelty will -be :more ndistinctly:pointed-out in: therappendedrclaims.

i 1 the drawings .Fig. .l'is an elevation'ofa'portionjof fan-automotivewehiclef. including the fdifierential andnthe ztr-ansniission housing portion of an automotive "engine, the combination having'thereversing ati tachment of the present inventionapplied therei-.to;

WEFig. 2 is an horizontal -section1tln'ough the -re- (Cl.':.74--J-37'7) 2 "versing attachment taken substantiallyalong-the lines-2 OfFig. 3;

Fig. ,3 'is' a vertical section taken substantially "along the 'line 3 3 of Fig. 2 -and looking in the direction of the-arrows;

'Figure l is a vertical section taken: substantially along" line 4 -4 of Fig. 2 and looking in" the direction of-the arrows and 1 Fig-. 5 is a vertical. section takensubstantially l along line 5 5' of Fig. 2.

In the present disclosure there is indicatedran automotive engine lll having -a=-"transmission housing I' integral therewith and :from which upwardly'pi'ojects as gear shift lever l2lby1'means o'i =which' the directionvofrotation of a flywheel -l3:may be controlled,asiwelluas thespeed of ro- "tationthereof in the :forward directionas is customary in such devices. The flywheel .13 supports 'one forko'f asuniversaljoint l4 including a *-portion-of-a propeller shaft-H5. Normallyrthe --propeller shaft 5 would extend rearwardly into driving-engagement with -thegears housed in a differential l 'fi from which transverse shafts such as shaft l1: "extend toaeach of a pair of driving .25 xvii-116615. 'lnlthe'present invention the difierential housing is shown as provided with a connecting -fiange- M3 :to: whichiwould" normally beattached the propellershaft housing extending longitudienally ofithe vehicle, :and'zt-he'invention herein dis- 3 closed' and'claimed comprises a reversin -at- "tachment' -including a housing 1 l9 connected to the-fiange 8 'r-a-nd .a coupler housing to which a stub 'section of thepropeller sha-ft I5 is at- .tached.'- he illustration- -isof a portionof a "'1close coupledevehicle and it is to be appreciated that the length of the prope1ler=shaft section i 5 "-ma'y be -vzau'ie'd to suit the particular vehicle.

A jaekshaft 2l projects forwardly from the 'hous'ing l-il aind is adjustably connected to a pair 'e'ndof the shaft. The-links 22 are-connectedto the -lower'-"-end of -an attachment reversing lever 24' pivoted at 25 to abracket "26 fixed to the top (of the-transmission housing. 'The fiangels is providedzwith bolt receiving lugs through which I-bO1tS 21 enornia'lly pass into' the rear end of the propellershaft-housingyand the same belts in the *present instance I are threaded into holes drilled in the wall of the reversing attachment 3-50 housing. The coupler 20 comprises a splined connection which maybe sl-idingly associated with the-'revers ing -'"atta;ch1nent as will presently ap- =--pear." Thereversing attachment lever and its .nnounting "bracketmay -bareadily mounted upon "any standardengine.

The reversing attacment comprises a box which may be easily formed by bending a sheet of steel plate to form side walls and 3i and a top 32, to which may be welded a bottom plate 33, a front wall and a. rear wall 35, the front and rear walls being made of heavier plate materials. The rear wall 35 is provided with a large opening 35 to the edge of which is fastened the flange it of the differential housing. The front wall 34 is provided with an aligned opening into which is welded an outboard bearing support 3'! supporting a pair of bearings 38 and an oil seal 39. A splined driving shaft 45 is supported in the bearings 38 and projects forwardly into the coupling 29), the splines thereof meshing with internal splines in the hub of a coupler ii, the teeth of which match longer internal teeth 42 in a cylindrical block 43 forming the main por- Cir tion of the coupling. A plate M is bolted to the 1 end of the block 53 and is welded or otherwise I aifixed to the end of the stub shaft 15 which supports the complementary fork of the universal joint M. An oil seal 55 preferably surrounds the hub of the coupler 5i and is force-fitted into a seat on the rear end of the block 53. The teeth provide positive means to transmit rotation from the propeller shaft section [5 to the driving shaft of the gear attachment, the splines between coupler fl and the driving shaft and the teeth on parts 4i and 43 providing extensible means for transmitting force to the differential as well as some universal joint action.

The driving shaft 45 is aligned with the usual universal stub shaft 55 projecting forwardly from the differential housing and which would normally be connected to a universal joint at the rear end of the propeller shaft. In this construction the shaft section extends into the elongated hub of a main driven clutch element 52 and is fastened therein by a key 53 and a nut 54 in a hollow socket 55 in the outer end of the hub. The free end of the socket 55 journals a bearing 56 which supports the inner end of the shaft 45. A main driving gear 51 is fixed to shaft ii], the gear 51 being substantially equal in diameter to element 52.

Gear 5'?! meshes with a large gear 58 fixed to a shaft 55 extending through the front and rear walls. The rear surface of gear 58 has a long gear 55 attached thereto. A pair of brackets 5| and 52 are welded into the upper corner of the housing and provide intermediate supports for a shaft 53 extending through the housing walls, upon which is mounted a gear 54 between the brackets tiand 52,,the gear being in such position as to be engageable at all times with a reversing gear 65 slidably and loosely mounted on the forward end of the hub 5| of element 52, there being a sleeve bearing 65 interposed between the gear 55 and the hub 5|. The forward end of the gear 55 is provided with a hub extension 57 in which fits a. lug 58 on the jackshaft 2|. The rear surface of the gear 65 is provided with internal teeth 59 capable of engaging with the teeth of element 52'. The teeth 69 are preferably formed by drilling a circle of countersunk holes 10 in the end of the gear which are then connected by milling a central cavity in the end of the gear. Gears 64 and 65 constitute a reversing gear pair.

The rear end of gear meshes with a large forward gear l5 mounted upon the rear end of hub 5!, there being a sleeve bearing 76 interposed between the two whereby the gear 15 is slidably and loosely mounted upon the hub. The forward surface of the gear 15 is provided with internal teeth ll preferably formed by drilling a circle of countersunk holes 78 and connecting the holes by a central cavity. A lug 19 welded to the jackshaft 2| contacts the rear surface of the gear 15 and an intermediate lug 80 welded to the jackshaft 2i projects between the gears '15 and 65 to act as a spacer therebetween. The lug 80 is slightly wider than the element 52 so that when the jackshaft 2| is in neutral position both of the gears 65 and f5 are maintained out of engagement with element 52 and the stub shaft 50 will remain stationary even though the propeller shaft section [5 is rotating.

The jackshaft 2! is provided with a set of three notches in position to receive a ball 85 mounted in a support 87 extending through the wall 30. The support 81 preferably comprises a drilled,

threaded plug or the like which is screwed into position and then welded in its desired relationship. The plug is provided with a central bore in which is compressed a spring 88 for thrusting the ball outwardly against the peaned-over lip of the bore. The outer end of the bore retains a threaded compression adjusting bolt 89 which may be retained in adjusted position by a lock nut Kill. The compression of spring 88 is adjusted to hold the jackshaft in one of the three positions determined by the notches 85.

Operation When the jackshaft 2! is in neutral position as seen in Fig. 2 the transmission lever [2 may be shifted to any desired position without driving the axles l1. When the transmission gear shift lever i2 is in neutral position the propeller shaft is not rotating. When the propeller shaft [5 is not rotating, or at least when it is rotating at slow speeds, the jackshaft 2| may be shifted in either direction from neutral by the shifting lever 25. When the lever '24 is thrown forwardly the ball 85 will ride into the forward notch 85 and the lugs on the jackshaft will slide gears 55 and 75 rearwardly until element 52 engages with teeth 69 on gear 65. With the gears in this relationship there are three reversals of direction of rotation with the net result that the difierential stub shaft 58 will rotate in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the propeller shaft section I5. When the lever 24 is pulled rearwardly ball 86 arrests the jackshaft when it reaches the rearmost notch 85, in which position the lugs on the jackshaft have shifted both gears 65 and 15 forwardly until'element 52 meshes with the teeth 17 on gear 15. When the gears are in this relationship there are two reversals of rotation with the net result that the differential stub shaft 50 is driven in the same direction as the propeller shaft l5. Accordingly, if the propeller shaft is rotating in such direction as to drive the vehicle forwardly and the jackshaft 2| is pulled forwardly the vehicle will move forwardly, and if the propeller shaft I5 is rotating in the direction to drive the vehicle rearwardly the vehicle will move rearwardly. Contrariwise, if the propeller shaft 15 is rotating in a direction to drive the vehicle forwardly and the jackshaft 2| is moved rearwardly the vehicle will move rearwardly, while if the jackshaft is moved forwardly the vehicle will move rearwardly. Accordingly, the vehicle may be driven either forwardly or rearwardly through the reverse transmission gear sets at low speed under high power transmission factors, or it may be moved either rearwardly or forwardly through the varithis sets of gears in a three or four speed forward driving transmission.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing that a considerable saving in time may be accomplished since under no circumstances is the driver compelled to turn a vehicle around in order to achieve the speed or power desired for a particular operation, and the vehicle at all times is capable of the same speeds of movement in either direction.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be ap parent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An auxiliary transmission for automotive vehicles adapted to be interposed between the propeller shaft and the differential stub shaft of the vehicle, consisting of a housing, a driving gear mounted in said housing and adapted to be connected to the propeller shaft, a long gear driven by said driving gear, a reversing gear pair driven by said long gear and including a first gear constantly in mesh with said long gear and a second gear constantly in mesh with said first gear, a forward gear constantly in mesh with said long gear, means supporting said second gear and said forward gear comprising a driven clutch element upon which said second gear and said forward gear are coaxially mounted and loosely rotatable, said driven clutch element being adapted to be connected to the differential stub shaft,

first clutch means formed on said second gear, second clutch means formed on said forward gear, said clutch means being formed to engage said driven clutch element, and means to shift said second gear and said forward gear simultaneously in either direction so as to engage one or the other of said clutch means with said driven clutch element, said first and second clutch means being so spaced that when said second gear and said forward gear are in an intermediate position the driven clutch element is free from both of said clutch means.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 wherein said driven clutch element comprises a toothed, intermediate section and a cylindrical hub projecting from each side of said section and on which said second gear and said forward gear are mounted, and said clutch means comprise internal teeth on said second gear and on said forward gear adapted to engage said toothed section.

EDDIE. B. WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,245,815 Peterson et a1. June 1'7, 1941 2,320,757 Sinclair June 1, 1943 2,438,539 Cook Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 367,948 Italy Feb. 6, 1939 

